Primary Politics
For depth of political coverage, it's hard to beat The Politico and politico.com. Since editors John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei launched the upstart Web site last year, it has quickly ramped up the quality and thoroughness of its coverage. For an example, see Matt Lewis' "Next Up: Romney vs. Huckabee," which explores how the two are still battling to become the heir to the conservative throne. I also admire The Politco's continuing and extensive coverage of lobbying's influence in Washington. www.politico.com/
But when it comes to primary night coverage, I turn first to CNN and cnn.com. Their election night map is tops, and I like the "Delegate Calculator," which lets you figure out the different ways Clinton and Obama can win enough delegates in the remaining primaries. www.cnn.com
For a fun yet informative look at politics, the Congressional Quarterly's "VP Madness" lets you play a game to predict who will become John McCain's running mate. The game is set up like the brackets for March Madness and allows you to choose among 32 contenders. Each contender comes with a thumbnail sketch describing his or background. The Congressional Quarterly promises to offer a similar bracket for the Democratic vice presidential pick if the party can ever decide on a presidential nominee. http://innovation.cq.com/vpmadness A big thank you to CQ's innovations guru, Ken Sands, who shared this idea on the Poynter Institute's "E-Media Tidbits."
Who else do you turn to for political coverage? Leave us a comment with your thoughts.